


Cufflinks

by ValancyStirling



Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2021-01-23 10:56:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21319042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ValancyStirling/pseuds/ValancyStirling
Summary: Anne find the perfect gift for Gilbert - a long lost heirloom to bring into his new family with Winnifred.
Relationships: Cole Mackenzie & Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe & Anne Shirley
Comments: 4
Kudos: 131





	Cufflinks

Anne still hadn’t spent her silver dollar from her sixteenth birthday. She simply had not found anything she loved enough to part with it. The stores in Carmody did little to tickle her fancy – everything seemed so common. Anne wanted to find something as unique and unusual as her. These two adjectives used to make Anne cringe, but in the past few months, she had begun to wear them as a prized ribbon. When Matthew bestowed upon her the “Most Unusual” ribbon at the County Fair (on what may have been the worst day of her life) Anne had taken the superlative to heart.

Anne had made peace with Gilbert’s decision to pursue Miss Rose and gave him her blessing on the step at Miss Stacy’s. “Winnifred is a lucky gal.” Besides, Anne had to tend to another heartbreak, the ending of her bosom friendship with Diana.

She decided to take Cole up on his offer to spend a week in Charlottetown.

“Anne, it’s time that you had a taste of the highlife.” I have quite the itinerary for us this week. It’s time you felt like the Queen you are.” Cole rifled through Aunt Josephine’s hat collection and found the most perfect cerulean blue perch hat adorned with a peacock feather. “This is perfect for our first outing! It will look lovely with your velvet jacket and pinstriped skirts.”

“Do you think it’s necessary to wear this corset?” grunted Anne as she struggled with her undergarments behind the dressing screen.

“If you want the proper silhouette, then yes. Besides, who’s going to see you?”

“They won’t recognize me anyhow. I hardly recognize myself.”

“Okay, come out I want to see you. I can’t wait.”

“You didn’t have to buy me a whole outfit, Cole. You’re simply spoiling me.”

“It’s not every day that my most kindred of spirits turns sixteen. And it’s not every day that I sell one of my sculptures to a Montreal railway mogul.”

“Please don’t waste any of your hard earned money on me,” Anne remarked as she emerged from behind the screen.

“It brings me great joy to shower you with gifts, you deserve pretty things!” Cole placed a pair of lace gloves in Anne’s hands. “Now, twirl around. I want to see how you look. Anne, it’s perfect!”

Cole placed the hat atop Anne’s pompadour. “Anne, you’re simply gorgeous. All the Charlottetown men will be envious of me with you on my arm.”

Anne looked in the mirror. She was more stylish than usual. The blue tones made her red hair and grey eyes pop. “I don’t look so plain and boring anymore.”

“Plain and boring? Two words you will never be, Queen Anne. Now lace up those boots, we have a show to catch.”

...

Anne and Cole walked arm in arm down Grafton Street. Men tipped their hats at the auburn haired beauty while Cole grinned from ear to ear.

Anne stopped just outside the pawn shop when something caught her eye. A pair of silver cufflinks was displayed in the window. Without speaking, Anne rushed into the shop.

“May I take a look at those cufflinks?” Anne demanded as she pointed to the window.

“Of course M’am”, replied the shop owner.

On closer inspection, Anne confirmed that these were, in fact, the very same cufflinks that Elijah had stolen from Gilbert.

“Cole! Look at the engraving! JB. John Blythe! These are Gilbert’s.”

Anne turned and pleaded with the shop keeper, “how much?”

“Five dollars.”

Anne gulped, “okay, I simply must have these cufflinks. Allow me to speak to my friend outside.”

Once outside, Cole could fully see the look of desperation in Anne’s eyes. “I only have the silver dollar Matthew gave me for my birthday.”

“I can lend you the rest,” suggested Cole.

“You’ve given me so much already.”

“But I can see how important this is for you.”

Anne returned to the pawn shop and handed over five silver coins.

“It’s a pleasure doing business with you,” the store keeper handed over the cufflinks in a blue velvet box.  
  
“This will make a splendid wedding gift for Gilbert. An heirloom he can bring into his new family.”

Cole knew that Anne was not okay with the idea of Gilbert marrying Miss Rose, but she had resigned herself to the possibility.

…

The rest of the week was filled with luncheons, visits to the salon, boutique shopping, and long walks with Cole. Anne was sad to see it end, but was eager to return to Avonlea (with some new pieces to add to wardrobe).

When Anne returned to Bright River, Matthew could hardly believe his eyes. The girl he had met five years prior had grown into a beautiful young woman, tall and stylish. She didn’t seem to belong in Avonlea anymore.

“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” Matthew held his girl close. “You may be wearing those fancy clothes, but you’re still my little girl.”

“And I hope I’ll always be.” Anne snuggled close to Matthew in the buggy. “Let’s go home!”

Marilla had prepared one of Mary’s stew recipes. “I hope you don’t mind that I invited Gilbert and Bash for supper. They have been quite busy with the summer planting.”

“Not at all.” Anne rushed upstairs to change.

When she descended the staircase, she had transformed from fashion queen to a softer, more romantic version of herself. Her high pompadour had been tamed into a single French braid with soft tendrils framing her face. She wore a pale blue skirt, a simple eyelet blouse (Cole insisted that the sleeves be just a little puffy) and a cameo necklace that was a gift from Aunt Josephine.

She was surprised to see Gilbert and Bash with little Delphine so early before supper. “Blythe worked like a jackrabbit this afternoon. You could have sworn he never ate a good meal in a decade.”

“Hello Anne”, Gilbert looked longingly into Anne’s eyes. This phenomenon did not seem unusual to Anne, for he was always looking at her like this. She simply assumed that this is how he looked at everyone.

“Gilbert, I have some amazing news for you!” Anne was hoping to keep the cufflinks a secret until he and Winnifred had officially announced their engagement, but she couldn’t wait. “Come to the garden with me.”

Without hesitation, Gilbert followed. “What is it?”

“When I was in Charlottetown with Cole… we walked outside this pawn shop and I saw these.” Anne handed Gilbert the small velvet box.

Gilbert gulped when he opened it.

“I checked, they’re inscribed J.B. They’re definitely your dad’s.”

“Anne, I have no words.” He stared into Anne’s eyes, “thank you.”

“I thought that you could wear them at your wedding.”

“My wedding?” Gilbert looked bewildered.

“I can only dream of ever being a bride, but if I am somehow fortunate to become one someday, I would give anything to carry with me a family heirloom.”

“How much did it cost? I’ll pay you back. Every penny.”

“It’s a wedding gift, silly. It doesn’t matter ”

Gilbert looked at Anne and swallowed hard. “I feel bad accepting this gift since you bought it on the pretence that I was getting married, because I certainly am not… well not yet and not to Winnifred.”

Now it was Anne’s turn to be confounded. “What do you mean?”

“Winnifred called off our courtship, or whatever it was.”

Anne placed her hand on Gilbert’s shoulder, “I am so sorry. I hope this doesn’t sound cliché, but it is nothing but her loss.”

Gilbert hung his head and stared at the red earth. Anne interpreted it as sorrow, but Gilbert simply didn’t know how to tell her that Winnifred Rose had ended things because of a certain red haired “family friend.”

“Gilbert, someday, some woman is going to recognize how truly wonderful you are. Keep the cufflinks for then.”

Gilbert raised his head and gazed into Anne’s blue-grey eyes. “I will.”


End file.
